The Benefits of Folic Acid for Pregnant Women

Trending With Moms

Summary: National Folic Acid Awareness Week is held every January to promote this essential B vitamin. Getting the right amount of folic acid is especially important for women who are trying to conceive because it aids in the prevention of birth defects.

By Carolyn Buchanan | Posted: January 10, 2014

The year was 1941. Two chemists holed up in a university attic used a steam kettle and filter press to process four tons (!) of spinach as they sought to isolate and identify a particular B vitamin. They named their discovery "folic acid" after the Latin word for leaf, folium.

Researchers have since uncovered the connection between babies being born with major birth defects in the brain or spine and folic acid deficiencies in pregnant women. In 1998 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration mandated that it be added to enriched bread, pasta, and other cereal grains, and as a result, the incidence of spina bifida and anencephaly has dropped by 50 percent.

Folic acid is the man-made form of folate, also referred to as folacin, pteroylglutamic acid, and vitamin B9. It helps the body's tissues to grow and cells to work. Everyone needs folic acid, but for women who are pregnant, or even trying to conceive, it is really important. Folic acid is required for the production of DNA, which is necessary for the rapid cell growth needed to make fetal tissues and organs early in pregnancy. Getting enough folic acid before and during pregnancy can prevent babies being born with neural tube defects such as anencephaly and spina bifida.

For folic acid to work, a woman needs to start taking it at least one month before she becomes pregnant and while she is pregnant. Between the 17th and 30th day after conception (or four to six weeks after the first day of a woman's last menstrual period), the neural tube forms in the embryo and then closes. The neural tube later becomes the baby's spinal cord, spine, brain, and skull. Neural tube defects occur when the neural tube fails to close properly, leaving the developing brain or spinal cord exposed to the amniotic fluid. The two most common neural tube defects are anencephaly and spina bifida.

Folic acid is abundant in many foods, especially in leafy green vegetables, fruits, dried beans, peas, and nuts as well as enriched breads, cereals, and other grain products. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that all women of childbearing age get at least 400 micrograms (mcg) of folate every day. If you don't get enough from the foods you eat, you can also take it as a dietary supplement.

Because the benefits of folic acid are so well established and it's one of those vitamins that you can't get too much of, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommends that women make sure they are getting an adequate dose in two ways: Take a vitamin that has folic acid in it every day. And, eat a bowl of breakfast cereal that has 100 percent of the daily value of folic acid every day.

Most multivitamins sold in the United States have the amount of folic acid women need each day. Women can also choose to take a supplement that has only folic acid in it each day. (Folic acid pills are small and easy to swallow.) Check the label to be sure it contains 100 percent of the daily value (DV) of folic acid, which is 400 micrograms (mcg) or 0.4 milligrams (mg).

Most women don't need more than 1,000 micrograms of folic acid each day. There are some women who may benefit from higher doses: For example, those who've had a pregnancy affected by neural tube defects or women with sickle cell disease may need more. Talk to your provider to make sure you get the right amount.

And although there is no toxic level of folic acid, consuming too much can hide signs that a person is lacking vitamin B12, which can cause nerve damage. Lacking vitamin B12 is rare among women of childbearing age. Plus, most prenatal vitamins also contain B12 to help women get all that they need. People at risk of not having enough vitamin B12 are mainly people 50 years and older and people who eat no animal products.

Finally, moms-to-be aren't the only ones who should be upping their folate intake. There's growing evidence that dads-to-be can help fortify their impending offspring by taking bigger doses of folic acid. One study showed that men who consume high levels of folic acid (over 700 mcg a day) actually lower their risk of sperm abnormalities by 20 to 30 percent, which in turn, lowers the chances of chromosomal abnormalities that can lead to birth defects, like Down syndrome, in babies.

It seems safe to say that the whole family will benefit from folic acid fortification!

The material on this website is provided for educational purposes only and is not to be used for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, or in place of therapy or medical care. Use of this site is subject to our terms of use and privacy policy

Advertising Notice

This Site and third parties who place advertisements on this Site may collect and use information about your
visits to this Site and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you.
If you would like to obtain more information about these advertising practices and to make choices about online behavioral advertising, please
click here